Zawirowa I Wcza
by Mahlia Hawke
Summary: Meet Kagura Minaoe: a ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village with a love for causing trouble. When there are an uneven amount of students that ascended to the Genin rank that year, one of the cells will, for the very first time…include four Genin? Kagura is put on her best friend Naruto's squad and she couldn't be happier. ShikamaruXOC?
1. Chapter 1

"Loooooserrrs!" I laughed loudly, dashing through the streets of Konohagakure.

"God damn it! Kagura Minaoe, stop running right this instant!"

Behind me trailed at least four Chunin level ninja, hell bent on catching up to me. Clutched in my narrow fingers was a small crystal ball.

Not an hour before, I had tactfully snuck into the Hokage's very own room and snatched up the little ball of wonders. Rumour had it; you could watch anyone in the entire village, at any given time, with it. A very dear friend of mine had proposed we put this to the test. After many hours of enthusiastic planning, here I was: running from a group of advanced shinobi that wanted to skin me alive for being such a nuisance.

"Hey, Kagura! Up here!" a young male voice called from somewhere atop one of the many surrounding buildings. Without looking I already knew whom it belonged to. Leaping high off the ground, I turned to the source of the voice.

"Do it, Naruto!" I cried arduously as I passed the blonde boy.

He let out a chuckle, and I could see him making hands signs as he yelled back, "You don't have to tell me twice!"

Suddenly, he was surrounded by at least a dozen other Narutos, all tittering as they charged at the Chunin that had been following me. Safely on the roof of a bookstore, I tucked the crystal ball into my sleeve, waiting for Naruto to make his final move. Caught by surprise, the assembled shinobi stopped in their tracks. They glared at the group of orange-jumpsuit-wearing males coming after them. I watched them closely, observing their slowed-down movements and sloppy choice of action. They didn't take the Uzumaki kid seriously. Sitting on the edge of the building, I crossed my legs and set my elbows on my thighs, getting comfortable for the oncoming show.

"He may be a dunce… But you really shouldn't underestimate him," I thought aloud. Realizing too late that they shouldn't have been so careless in dealing with the Genin, the group of older ninja was assaulted by the many clones. I watched in pleased silence as he effectively knocked them all unconscious.

Clapping my hands together, I cheered for my friend. Releasing the jutsu, Naruto spun in my direction, giving me a wide grin and a thumbs-up. I returned the gesture, smiling triumphantly. Suddenly his expression changed, and he began pointing emphatically, apparently unable to speak. Just as I was about to ask him what the hell his problem was, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. My body stiffened, and I slowly turned my head to see who was behind me.

"Hello, Miss Minaoe," Iruka Umino grumbled, a strained smile on his scarred face. "Skipping out on cleaning up the mess of red paint you left in my classroom earlier today?" Letting out a gasp I quickly stood.

"I-Iruka-sensei! What are you doing here?"

His eyes narrowed quite a bit more and he crossed his arms, and I was already cringing from the knowledge that he was about to yell at me.

Again.

"First, you try to play hooky. Then, you think it's a grand idea to set up a bucket of paint to fall on me when I tried to start the day's lesson."

I could see his tan fingers clench his upper arms much tighter, and I cowered, waiting for the shouting to begin.

"And now, you-and Naruto, no less-steal from the Hokage and make fools out of the shinobi sent after you! The two of you are nothing but a pair of troublemakers! What do you have to say for yourself!?" Letting out a heavy sigh, I moved to look up at my sensei. "I've got one thing, and one thing only, to say…" My voice came out small and defeated, completely taking Iruka by surprise. His face softened a bit as he saw me frown.

"See ya!"

I tried to run off, but to my dismay, I was grabbed by the collar of my shirt before I could take two steps. Iruka looked pleasantly annoyed as I flashed him a weak smile.

"Oh, no you don't. I believe you've got a mess to clean up, miss."

Letting out a sigh my shoulders slumped in disappointment.

_Another night at the academy…_

I sat on the floor of the classroom, silently scrubbing at the mess of red paint. Iruka had left to get something to eat, but there were older shinobi poking their heads in and checking on me every few minutes. Each time I saw one look into the room I shot them a nasty glare, resulting in them quickly retreating from the room.

None of them treated me like an equal. It was like they were all afraid of me or something, the way they acted when I made any indication I was angry.

Not like I really gave a shit anyway.

I was technically a foreigner so why not be afraid? No one knew how I had come to be at the gate of the Hidden Leaf Village when I was an infant. They didn't have any idea who I was, where I came from, or who had put me there. The only clue to my past was the faded indigo blanket I had been wrapped in when they found me, with my apparent family name, 'Minaoe', on it. Regardless, the Hokage took me in, pretty much raising me as his own. His lectures got old, but admittedly, I had a soft spot for the guy. He was one of the very few people who didn't seem to hate or fear me. I was treated just like one of his grandchildren.

"Need some help there?" someone asked.

Turning my head to look behind me, I saw a smiling Naruto entering the room.

I grinned at him. From the day I'd first met the goofy blonde boy in the beginning of my academy days, we'd been best friends. He was partial to making mischief, being loud, and had an interesting borderline obsession with ramen. Don't get me wrong, I love it too, but I swear it's the only thing this kid will eat… And then there was the fact that, like me, Naruto was an outcast. We understood each other's loneliness and hardships, making us wonderful friends. The two of us were nearly inseparable.

"What are you doing here, Uzumaki? Shouldn't you be conning Iruka-sensei into taking you out to Ichiraku or something?" I inquired, secretly happy he'd shown up.

Picking up a spare wash cloth set on one of the desks, he bent down and started helping me scrub the floor.

"You helped me clean up all that crap on the Hokage monument a week ago. I figured it was time I repaid the favour," he replied simply.

My grin widened. I could always count on Naruto. While we scrubbed the floor, making small talk, Iruka came back in the room.

"Well, well! Looks like you've been working hard since I've been gone."

Glancing down, I saw he was right. For the most part there was only a faint pink tint to a-rather large-section of the hard wood floor.

"Tell you what…" Iruka began, pacing in front of us, the smile on his face no longer strained. "Since you did such a good job in so little time, how's about I let you head home early?"

I turned to Naruto to see he was smiling. We high-fived each other and stood to leave. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" I called over my shoulder as Naruto and I rushed out of the classroom.

After walking with Naruto to his house and saying goodnight, I had finally come to my own home. I shuffled in the door, being sure to close it quietly and lock it behind me. Slipping off my shoes, I meandered over into the hall, only to be assaulted by a brown-haired child of about eight.

"Kagura neechan!"

Caught completely off guard, I fell flat on my back as the kid barreled into me.

"Ah! What the hell, Konohamaru!?" I cried, glaring at him. He hugged me hard and flashed me a toothy grin.

"I heard you poured a bucket of paint on your sensei today! You have to show me how you set it up so I can get Ebisu!" he practically yelled.

I sighed, a small smile playing on my lips. Like most boys his age, Konohamaru was loud, obnoxious, and showed a great interest in practical jokes.

"Been causing trouble again, Kagura?" a voice asked.

Shoving Konohamaru off of me, I looked up to see the Hokage. He had an amused expression on his weathered face, a smoking pipe protruding from his mouth. I glanced up at the old man and smirked.

"Who? Me? Never!" I said sarcastically, standing up and brushing myself off. Konohamaru clung to my leg, jumping up and down and frantically chanting, "Come on, neechan!" Trying to appear annoyed, I peeled the child off my leg, holding him in the air. "Actually, if you don't mind, Konohamaru, I was hoping to speak with Kagura," the old man said while taking a step forward.

"But gramps-!" Konohamaru protested, struggling in my grip.

The Hokage chuckled.

"You can have time with her another day, child."

Konohamaru glared up at his grandfather, gave me a quick hug, and sprinted off. The elderly male began shuffling down the hall, going towards the family room. I followed in silence, wondering what he wanted to talk to me about. As I entered the room, I observed my adoptive grandfather sit down, two cups of steaming tea set on the small table in the room. He beckoned me to sit by him, and I obliged quite enthusiastically. I had a weakness for tea. Planting myself on the opposite end of the table, I picked up one of the cups, gently blowing on it to cool it down.

"What did you need, ojii-san?" I asked after taking a few sips.

He smiled warmly at me, setting down his cup.

"I've been rather busy lately and haven't been able to properly congratulate you on becoming a Genin," he began.

I grinned, happy to hear the proud tone in his voice. Shifting slightly, I observed as he reached into the sleeve of his kimono, pulling out a small box. He pushed it in front of me, his smile widening.

"Congratulations, Kagura!"

Curious, I picked up the small box. It was a charcoal grey, and easily fit in my hand. My fingers wrapped around the top of it and pulled.

Inside laid a beautiful, intricate, hair ornament. It was a white comb, with a large pink flower on the end of it. Looking more closely at it, I saw there were small, grey designs on the comb, and beads dangled from the end with the flower. I turned it over in my hands, marveling at the beauty of it.

"It had been Biwako's… She wanted you to have it," he explained, his eyes looking sad.

I touched the flower delicately, memories of my grandmother floating through my head. I brought my arms up, pushing the comb into my long, pale blue hair. Looking back up, I saw him smiling at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.


	2. Chapter 2

In a daze, I slowly shuffled along the halls of the academy, making my way to Iruka's classroom. I stretched briefly and walked in.

My fellow classmates were sitting around, chatting animatedly with each other, with the exception of one boy. On the left side of the room I recognized a dark-haired individual with his face buried in his arms. I couldn't help but giggle.

On my way over to a seat close to the boy, Naruto waved at me. I waved back, flashing him a grin and a thumbs-up. Sitting down, I looked at the sleeping boy next to me. He was breathing quietly, his shoulders moving slowly with each breath. Reaching up, I took the ponytail tied on top of his head in my hand, tugging gently.

He didn't move. I pulled again, this time just a bit harder.

Still nothing.

Growing impatient I grasped his hair with a firm grip and yanked. Hard.

Throwing his head up he looked around wildly.

"Ouch! What the-!" His eyes found me. "Oh. It's just you. Hey, Kagura," he said drowsily, rubbing his eyes.

Shikamaru Nara: the laziest person I had ever come into contact with. To most people, he was a kid who wasn't very tall, didn't have much muscle tone. His eyes were on the small side and his features were somewhat plain. He was lazy. Whiny. And just completely unmotivated to do anything. To me, he was still quite the apathetic fool who liked to complain. But I found myself strangely attracted to him. The boy was incredibly smart for his age. When he wasn't going on about how much of a drag things were, he was a wonderful person to talk to. Not to mention, after being around Naruto for long periods of time, his calm personality was a pleasant change. And I found his intelligence wondrously refreshing. Naruto would always be number one on my friends list, but let's face it: the boy couldn't hold an intellectual conversation for a lifetime supply of miso ramen.

"Are you like, nocturnal or something? I swear, all you ever do in class is sleep," I remarked, trying to hide a smile. After stretching his arms, Shikamaru proceeded to rest his head back on the desk.

"Nah. Just don't have anything better to do," he replied with a yawn. Looking up at me, he let out a sigh.

_Boy was he cute. _

"Don't you have anything better to do than disturb my rest?" Smirking, I simply shrugged. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement, and turned to see what was going on. Sakura Haruno, an annoying, loud-mouthed, pink-haired Sasuke Uchiha fangirl was yelling at Naruto to move. My eyes narrowed slightly, and I tossed my right shoe at the back of her head. I really, really, _really _did not like her. Especially when she was shouting at my best friend. Crying out in pain and clutching her head, she spun around.

"Who threw that!" she whined, her eyes watering.

Sitting up a bit straighter, I flashed a fake smile and raised my hand, trying hard not to laugh. The pink-haired girl scowled at me as Shikamaru and a few others burst into laughter.

"What is your problem?" she questioned angrily, getting very close to my face.

Still smiling, I replied with a dangerous tone in my voice, "I don't like people shouting at my friends. Learn some fucking manners, pinky."

Just as I was about to shove her backwards, I heard an exasperated gasp. "Miss Minaoe!" Inclining my head, I saw the last person that needed to hear what I had just said to Haruno: Iruka-sensei.

"Such language will _not _be tolerated in this classroom! Do you understand?"

All around me I heard muffled giggles. Rolling my eyes, I sat up, and mockingly saluted Iruka.

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Beside me, Shikamaru was covering his mouth in attempt to stifle his laughter. Iruka, still glaring at me, let out a heavy sigh before proceeding. He turned his back for a moment, and I lifted my arm to shove Sakura.

Right before my hand made contact with her, I heard Iruka hiss, "Don't even think about it."

I pouted for a second before moving to retrieve my shoe. Iruka began to talk as I was slipping it on.

"From this day forward, you are no longer mere students of ninjutsu, but full-fledged shinobi," he began. "But, among the ranks of the shinobi, you are mere novices, lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges all lie ahead. The next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of your village. We will begin by dividing you into three-man cells…"

At this last part, my brow furrowed. Turning around, I began to count the number of students assembled in the classroom. Just as I was about half way done, Iruka spoke up.

"You're a sharp one, Kagura, I'll give you that," he said to me as I turned around.

In front of me, a boy with a puppy sitting atop his head looked around the room briefly-his name was Kiba, and he was apart of the Inuzuka clan in Konohagakure.

"What are you talking about?" he asked gruffly, his puppy letting out a small bark.

Iruka chuckled. "I'm surprised Kagura was the only one who noticed. There are an uneven number of Genin this year, so there will have to be one four-man cell," he explained to my classmates. "I made the selections so that each cell's abilities would be approximately equal." The entire room groaned. Letting out a sigh, I banged my head on the desk, knowing what was to come.

Equal, my ass.

I didn't doubt one bit that Iruka had put me on a team with people he knew I hated, as revenge for the paint incident.

And when I tried to change my grades.

And the day I sat in class hiding a cat in my lap, and it ended up freaking out and shredding his face.

He probably wanted payback for the time Naruto and I switched out his lesson plan for paper bombs, too…

Same goes for when I stole his clothes while he was bathing in the public baths…

And the time I accidentally lit him on fire whilst trying to show him I could do the Fireball Jutsu…

Oh, and let's not forget-

"I wonder if he put us on a team together," Shikamaru murmured, almost to himself.

I turned my head to him. "Who?"

He had his chin resting on his hands, and his elbows set on the desk, holding him up. He moved his head to look at me. "Us. You and me," he explained. "I mean, look at it this way. Our grades are complete opposites. And if we got put in the same cell, you'd be able to pick up my slack." He smirked at me and I felt my face flush.

_He wants us to be on the same team… _

Quickly, I turned my attention back to Iruka, trying to appear blithe about his remark. "You make a good point. He probably did put us in the same cell," I said, desperately hoping he couldn't see my pink cheeks. Snickering, he put his head back on the desk and closed his eyes. I could feel my face turn a darker shade of pink. He never said anything out loud about it… But I was pretty sure he knew I liked him.

"All right, moving on. The next cell will consist of: Shikamaru Nara-"

My ears perked up at this. Beneath the cover of the desk, I crossed my fingers.

"-Choji Akimichi-" I could feel myself tense up.

_Kagura Minaoe, Kagura Minaoe… _

"-and Ino Yamanaka," Iruka finished.

As soon as the name left his mouth, my heart sank. Beside me, I heard Shikamaru let out a groan.

"Her, of all people!" he murmurmed, burying his face in his hands. I couldn't have been more disappointed. Feeling utterly defeated, I let my head fall and bang against the desk. As Iruka continued to name off teams, I sat in silence, a bit melancholy, truth be told. "Next cell… Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha…" At the set of desks next to me, I heard cheers and sighs as Naruto and Sakura heard who their teammates were. "…and Kagura Minaoe!"

Taken by surprise, I jerked my head up. Blinking at Iruka, I stared, a dumbfounded expression on my face. "Huh?" I questioned.

Sure, he had put me with Haruno. But, never in a million years, would I have expected him to put me in the same cell as Naruto.

"The idea is to balance your different strengths, like I said at the beginning of class. That's why I put you with who I did," Iruka explained as he took notice of my shocked face. Looking to my left, I saw Naruto grinning at me. After a moment, I returned the grin, the both of us leaning forward and high-fiving. As I sat back in my seat, I felt eyes on me. Turning my head, I saw Shikamaru was staring at me, smiling. I furrowed my brow, giving him a questioning look.

"You got put on a team with Sakura AND that jerk Sasuke!" he laughed. I scowled menacingly and smacked him upside his head.

"Stuff it, Nara."

For the last part of class, I sat staring forward, my arms crossed and an irate expression resting on my face. Shikamaru continued to poke fun at me, but I ignored him.

"Okay, everyone. I'll be introducing you to your senior ninjutsu instructors this afternoon. Until then, you're dismissed!"

At this, the class began filing out. I stood to leave and felt someone tap me on the shoulder. Looking behind me, I saw Shikamaru. I raised my brows, silently asking what he wanted.

"You wanna… Go do something?" Again, I felt my face get hot. For a moment I was at a loss for words.

"Uhm… Sure. Why not?" I managed to say.

Sneering, he walked past me, gesturing for me to follow.

"It's so nice up here," I remarked, looking down at the ground.

Shikamaru had led me to his usual spot; high on the roof of a tall building on the main street. It had an excellent view of the village. He had brought me up here a few times before, and we would just lie back, staring at the clouds and talking. I liked to be up here, spending time with him. Turning around, I went to lie next to Shikamaru. He had his arms behind his head, using them as a pillow, and he had a dreamy expression on his face as he stared up at the bright blue sky.

"No arguing with that…" Shikamaru agreed, a small smile playing on his lips.

We lay there for awhile in comfortable silence, just staring up at the clouds. Suddenly, he let out a sigh. I turned my head to look at him.

"I can't believe _both _of us got stuck with Uchiha groupies," he murmured, covering his face with his hands. I let out a breath, remembering that I had been stuck with Sakura.

"I know… Lucky us…"

"Could have been worse, though. I mean, one of us could have been put on a team with both of them."

I nodded thoughtfully, putting my own arms behind my head.

"That's very true. I'd have killed myself," I muttered, my face scrunching up as I thought about going on missions with Sakura AND Ino. Taking a quick look at my face, Shikamaru laughed out loud. I smiled. He always got a kick out of the stupid faces I made.

The arm closest to me suddenly made its way to Shikamaru's side. Slowly, I moved my own arm. We lay there for a few hours, talking about nothing; our fingers lightly brushing against one another every now and then.


	3. Chapter 3

**After much too much time, I present to you: chapter three!**

**Sorry it took so long, and it's quite a bit shorter than one and two. ;-; My sleeping schedule got really messed up so I haven't been writing at all lately… I hope to fix it soon and get back to my stories.**

**Anyways, I hope the few of you following this fic enjoy the newest chapter.**

I let out a sigh as I fell backwards, my head slamming against the desk I was sitting on. Naruto currently had his head poking out of the sliding door leading away from the classroom, Sasuke sat with his hands clasped together trying to look cool, and Sakura was leaning against a desk next to the Uchiha boy, scowling at Naruto.

"Cut it out, Naruto!" she fumed.

Without looking up, I removed one of my shoes and tossed it at Sakura. She yelped as it made contact with her.

"Put a sock in it, Haruno," I mumbled, throwing my other shoe as she started to protest.

Naruto turned, harrumphing and crossing his arms.

"Why are we the only cell whose teacher hasn't shown up yet!?" he exclaimed. "All the other teams have already gone off with their teachers. Even Iruka-sensei has left!"

I huffed, growing irritated right alongside Naruto. After Shikamaru and I had made our way back to the Academy, we'd sat and talked until his instructor had shown up. That had been over an hour ago.

Sitting up, I turned my attention over to Naruto. He was standing on a stool grinning, his hand reaching up and placing something in between the gap of the slightly open door and the wall.

"Hey! What are you up to, Naruto!?" Sakura exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.

Hopping down, Naruto smirked.

"It's what he gets for making us wait!" he chuckled, moving to sit beside me. I giggled.

"Let's just call it karma."

In front of me, Sasuke let out a breath, looking back at Naruto and me with an expression on his face that said 'How stupid are you?'

"No way could a superior shinobi be caught by such a simple booby trap!" he told us.

Just as I was about to retrieve my shoes and throw them at Sasuke, the door opened slightly, the object Naruto placed up in between the gap falling on the head of a tall, silver-haired man. Apparently it had been a chalkboard eraser, because as soon as it hit his head, dust went everywhere.

"Gotcha!" Naruto laughed, pointing at the man.

He seemed to be about six foot, his long hair flipped to one side. The hitai-ate headband tied around his head was tilted, covering his left eye. His right one was the only thing that was visible-a dark blue mask hid the rest of his face.

I sneered as Sakura desperately tried to apologize. The man turned to us, his expression unreadable as he put a hand under his chin.

"Hmm… How shall I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say…"

We waited for him to finish his sentence.

"_I hate you."_

After being led outside, the silver-haired man in the mask sat against the railing of the balcony we were on.

"Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves," he told us.

Taking note of our quizzical expressions, he began to elaborate.

"You know. The usual. Your favourite thing… What you hate most… Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."

Naruto sat forward, still looking a tad bit confused.

"Help us out here, coach. You go first. Show us how it's done."

"That's right… After all. You're a complete stranger to us… A mystery," Sakura added.

"Oh… Me?" he began. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business… But anyway, I have lots of hobbies…"

The four of us blinked up at him. It seemed this guy was really good at answering questions…without really answering them.

"Now, it's your turn. Starting with you on the right." Kakashi gestured to Naruto.

"Me, right!? My name is Naruto Uzumaki! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at the Ichiraku Noodle Bar! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water," Naruto explained excitedly.

I shook my head, smiling. What did I tell you about the ramen thing?

"My dream is to one day… Be a better shinobi than Lord Hokage! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!"

I grinned up at him.

"My hobbies are… Pranks and practical jokes, I guess," the blonde boy finished.

Kakashi looked at him briefly before uttering a "Next!"

I looked up. That meant me.

"So, I'm Kagura. Kagura Minaoe! Things I like? Fire! And explosions!" I started, a slightly maniacal smile spreading over my lips. Sakura was eying me, a worried look on her face.

"…And cats. I really like cats! Things I don't like… People with no sense of humor. Getting in trouble… Groupies." At this, I turned to scowl at Sakura. I could hear Naruto giggle a bit.

"Dreams?"

I paused for a moment, unsure of how to word it. Finally I began to speak again.

"I want to be someone someday… I want to do something awesome, have my name go down in history! So one day, all these people that have treated me like an outsider my whole life, will have to admit that I was great, that I was strong… And that they were wrong to treat me like dirt all these years."

I had kind of lost myself in the moment, and was staring into space, a hardened expression on my face. Naruto waved his hand in front of me, bringing me back to reality.

"I'd also like to figure out how I got here… And why." I fiddled with the ends of my hair. "But anyways, moving on… Hobbies? I like setting things on fire. And blowing stuff up. And playing jokes on people with Naruto!"

Naruto turned to grin at me, and I instantly returned it. Kakashi stared at me for a moment before turning his attention to Sasuke. The dark-haired boy sat slightly behind me, his elbows resting on his knees, and his fingers clasped together.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha…" When he spoke, his tone was sinister, and his voice quiet.

"There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about 'dreams'… That's just a word… But what I have is determination. I plan to restore my clan. And there's someone I have sworn…"

There was a dramatic pause.

"…To kill," Sasuke finished, his expression dark.

Sakura was eying him and blushing, Naruto looked nervous, while I merely raised an eyebrow.

_I can't help but wonder who…_

Kakashi nodded in Sakura's direction.

"I am Sakura Haruno. My favourite thing is… Well, it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy…"

I rolled my eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me…" I muttered under my breath. She glared at me, and I stuck my tongue out at her. She opened her mouth to snap at me, but Kakashi interrupted her.

"Girls…" he said sternly, looking at us with what was probably a disapproving expression. I stared blankly at the silver-haired man. Lifting my arm, I pointed in his direction.

"Now you listen here, bud," I began. Just as I was about to tell him off, Naruto clamped a hand on my mouth. It made me very unhappy at the time, but it was probably for the best. I had quite the…colourful vocabulary. Which-not surprisingly-was often getting me into trouble. I glowered fiercely at Naruto and smacked his hand away. Crossing my arms, I pouted while Sakura continued.

"I hate…Naruto!" she spat, and Naruto looked positively devastated. "My hobbies are-"

Once again, Kakashi interrupted my pink-haired teammate.

"Enough," he told her. "I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow."

Naruto instantly became excited.

"Yes sir!" he shouted, saluting Kakashi. "What will our duties be!?"

"Our first project involves only the members of this cell," Kakashi explicated. I looked up at him, interested.

"What is it?"

Kakashi absentmindedly ran a hand through his silver hair.

"Survival exercises," he told me simply, crossing his arms.

Naruto and Sakura had disappointed expressions on their faces. Admittedly, I wasn't all that excited about it either.

"But why would that be a mission?" Sakura questioned. "Our school days were full of survival training!"

I detested agreeing with her, but pinky was right.

"You'll have to survive…against me. It won't be your typical practice," Kakashi said to her.

"Well, then what kind of practice will it be?" Naruto inquired.

Kakashi's shoulders shook slightly while he chortled. The four of us looked up at him questioningly.

"What's so funny, Hatake?" I asked slowly.

Sakura immediately turned to glower at me.

"You have the audacity to scold me for having bad manners!?" she hissed under her breath. "He's an elite level shinobi, and our elder! Show a little more respect!"

I ignored her while Kakashi turned his attention towards me.

"Oh, nothing… It's just that… If I told you, you'd chicken out."

I raised my eyebrows, skepticism evident in my facial expression. Naruto leaned forward, a look of curiosity tinged with cynicism gracing his face, uttering a "Why?"

At this, Kakashi bent over, looking at us with a hard stare.

"Of the twenty-seven members of your graduating class, only ten will actually be accepted as junior level shinobi," he explained. "The other eighteen must go back for more training."

My jaw dropped a little. But it didn't stop there.

"…The test we are about to perform has a 66.6% rate of failure."

I couldn't believe my ears. 66.6%..? I immediately fell backwards, banging my head for the umpteenth time that day. It was a wonder I hadn't cracked open my skull.

"See? You're chickening out already!" Kakashi laughed, taking note of our shocked faces. As if on cue, mine and Naruto's expressions instantaneously went from distressed to down right pissed off.

"That _sucks!"_ I yelled, tugging on the ends of my hair in frustration. Naruto emphatically pointed in Kakashi's direction.

"We have been through hell! What about our graduation test!?"

"Oh! We wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential," Kakashi responded simply.

I jolted up, and Naruto and I exclaimed in unison, "Say what!?"

"In any event, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all of your ninja tools and weapons."

Stepping towards us, Kakashi reached into his back pocket, pulling out a few sheets of paper.

"And don't have breakfast beforehand…" Kakashi started, earning him a quizzical expression from each of us.

"…Unless you enjoy throwing up."

Handing us each a sheet of paper, Kakashi went on to say what was written on it. Something about details and an instruction to memorize it. I wasn't completely sure, seeing as to how I wasn't exactly listening. I had fallen backwards again, my face frozen in a look of dismay.

Our first mission was to be a survival exercise. With a 66.6% rate of failure.

Fan.

Fucking.

Tastic.

**Asplhvbdjeyascllpx this chapter sucked. As you've undoubtedly noticed, I use the dialogue in the manga, and I had a hard time fitting stuff in in-between all the talking. :'c Anyways don't forget to leave a review! I'd love to know what you think of this fic.**


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